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Obituary: World War II vet was like grandfather to public school students

Staff at Courcelette Public School and friends and family of Alex Napier gathered Saturday to mourn the passing of the 98-year-old. For 20 years he was a fixture at the school Monday mornings, reading to students.

Alex Napier, 98, a World War II veteran who read to public students for 20 years, died last week. (TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

The last member of a group of World War II veterans who devoted their twilight years to reading to kids at a Scarborough school died this week, ending a 20-year tradition that touched the lives of countless young students.

The time at Courcelette Public School was a labour of love for Alex Napier, 98, who never had any kids of his own but treated the pupils like his own grandchildren.

Napier touched the lives of countless children by reading to them, telling stories and, most importantly, caring deeply about their future. He was more than just a visiting reader — for a few minutes, he was a grandfather.

The 98-year-old man died this week at his Scarborough home. More than a hundred people gathered to remember Napier Saturday, including the principal of Courcelette and many of its staff members.

Napier was one of 18 volunteers simply called “The Vets,” who volunteered at the = school, reading to students and helping with Remembrance Day ceremonies. In 2004, the school of about 270 pupils dedicated its new playground to the veterans.

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Jenny Newton has been teaching at the school for 19 years and grew close to Napier, as did both her daughters.

“He adored the kids. He talked about how he always wanted to be a teacher,” said Newton. Her daughters frequently went over to his house, where Zoë Newton Martin, now 18, would play organ.

“He was like a grandfather to us,” she said.

Napier was trained as a teacher but entered the job market around the Depression. He was making a salary of $400 a year. Despite his love for the job, he left to open a gas station near Yonge St. and Melrose Ave., north of Lawrence Ave.

War soon came and Napier enlisted in the Canadian navy where he would fight in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. After his time in the navy, Napier returned again to his native Scarborough to take a job in manufacturing. Following retirement, he became involved with Courcelette, where he went to school.

For 20 years he went every Monday, dressed in a suit. His pocket was always full of candies — usually Werthers — that were doled out to kids after storybook sessions.

“He loved to see things grow,” said his niece, Catherine Kaye. “In latter years he’d watched his roses bud and bloom in the spring and he was filled with joy when the roses came out. As an animal lover he loved to watch puppies turn into dogs … As an educator he loved to see the children discover the power of words, the joy of reading, to see them understand the actions that took place behind Remembrance Day.”

When he couldn’t drive any more, principal Phany Captsis refused to let that keep him from reading to the kids. She drove him every morning and dropped him off at home after their sessions.

Captsis says he doted on them, paying careful attention to their reading and alerting teachers if he thought they were having eyesight problems, while providing valuable lessons along the way.

“He always had a way of extending what they were reading and bringing it to life so it wasn’t just reading the words on the page. There was a story that came out of it and there was some kind of real world connection,” said Captsis. “He did have such an interesting life.”

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